Germany supports the idea of sending United Nations peacekeepers to Donbas, however believes the mandate for the mission in eastern Ukraine should extend across occupied areas and not just the line of demarcation between Russian occupation forces and Ukrainian government troops, Deputy Head of the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government Ulrike Demmer has said.

"In general the federal government supports the Russian initiative to deploy a peacekeeping mission. The idea was first proposed by Ukraine in 2015. It's a good sign that Russia is ready to join the process seeking peace in eastern Ukraine, Demmer told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday, adding "the Devil is in the details" of any Russian proposal to the UN Security Council.

Germany Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schafer said Germany and France would together discuss proposals for UN peacekeepers, taking into consideration differences between Ukraine and Russia.

"It's not in the interests of Germany to turn the war in Donbas into a frozen conflict, like the ones in Transdniester or in Georgia," Schafer said.